


Skip Tinder; Adopt a Cat

by phichithamsters



Series: phichithamsters's twitter fics [3]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: M/M, Meet-Cute, Modern AU, Otabek Altin as a hot doctor, originally a twitter thread
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-30
Updated: 2020-07-30
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:35:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,896
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25233994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phichithamsters/pseuds/phichithamsters
Summary: Yuri wakes up without Potya for the first time in years, and it's all because of his new neighbor.
Relationships: Otabek Altin/Yuri Plisetsky
Series: phichithamsters's twitter fics [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2027525
Comments: 20
Kudos: 139





	Skip Tinder; Adopt a Cat

**Author's Note:**

> This piece was originally posted as a twitter thread on 9/18/2019, and has since been lightly edited for grammar. You can find the original thread [here](https://twitter.com/phichithamsters/status/1174559995922395136), as well as the Facebook post that inspired it!

Yuri wakes up to the sound of his alarm, and he immediately knows something is wrong.

Usually, Potya wakes him up hours before Yuri intends, meowing loudly in his face until he swats her away because, _no, 4:00 am is not an appropriate time for her breakfast._ And then, after Yuri manages to calm her down enough to go back to sleep, he's usually awoken a few more times by Potya trying to get his attention. She licks his nose, kneads her paws into Yuri's ribcage, purrs loud enough for him to feel it in his chest. 

This means that Yuri is almost always awake at least an hour before he wants to be, and his alarm is set by force of habit at this point. _This_ morning, however, Yuri wakes up to bells, and he shoots up in bed in a panic.

He looks around the room frantically, but Potya is nowhere to be seen. Checking the clock, Yuri realizes that 1) it's 8:15 am and 2) Potya didn't wake him up _once_ during the night, and that means something is wrong. Very wrong. 

Yuri curses and jumps out of bed. He tries to calm his frantic nerves as he tears apart his apartment, checking under the couch, on her favorite perch, on top of the fridge, even the bathtub, where Yuri once found her trying to drink the water that dripped from the leaky spigot.

Yuri's frantic at this point and his mind is already latching onto the worst possibilities. Could she have gotten out during the night? No, he definitely locked the door, but…

Shit. The window.

He sprints back into his room, where he spots the culprit, cracked open just slightly to let the breeze in. Yuri often overheats at night so he usually sleeps with the window, but last night, Potya must have nudged open the crack (when did she learn _that_?) and slipped out into the night.

Yuri throws open the window. He knows it won't make a difference but he calls out of it anyway, her name tearing from his throat as if she can hear him. Potya is probably miles away by now, _how fast can cats actually walk?_ He's spiraling fast.

Yuri's so worried about her, all alone, no idea how to get home. Tears well in the corners of his eyes, hot and angry, and Yuri curses himself for being so careless. Dejectedly, he sits down at his desk and opens his computer. Yuri first calls the local animal shelter, fighting back the urge to cry as the receptionist tells him that they haven't picked up any new cats overnight. Frustrated and upset, he hangs up without so much as a thank you.

Next, he decides that Lost Cat posters are the way to go, so he opens up a word document, cause hell _,_ Yuri has never had to make a missing pet poster before, and _is there even a template for that?_

Yuri wipes his eyes and types:

**_Missing Cat: Potya (Puma Tiger Scorpion)_ **

_Answers to Potya, Kiska, or YaYa_

_Siamese cat, white with black paws, nose, and tail_

_Objectively the cutest cat in the world_

_If found, call Yuri Plisetsky at 430-509-4009_

_No reward, just give me back my cat you shitheads_

Yuri is looking up pictures on his phone (and falling down a hole because he misses Potya so much already and can't bear to think about life without her) when his landline rings. He jumps, because like, who the fuck even uses a landline anymore? Yuri's home phone is a part of his building, and each tenant has one in their apartment. They're mostly used for communication between the renters and their landlord, and—until today— Yuri didn't even that his phone was operational. 

But apparently it is, because it’s ringing so loudly that it is shaking the dust that's accumulated on its banana-yellow handle. Yuri inches towards it, part curious, part skeptical. He picks it up with one hand, holding it away from his face like it's infected.

"Hello?" A voice calls from the receiver. "Is this Yuri Plisetsky, uhm... Apartment 203?"

Yuri almost drops the phone. He had been expecting to immediately hang up on the caller because he has more important things at hand, (notably, his lost cat) but the voice catches his attention. It's deep and sweet like it's been dipped in honey, and even though Yuri can hear the cracks of early-morning drowsiness, the voice is downright _sexy._

Yuri wonders, briefly, if he can fall in love with just a voice.

"Hello?"

Yuri realizes that he's been silently holding the phone at arm's length for too long and that he needs to say something, _anything,_ to the annoyingly hot voice on the other end of the line.

"Uh. Hi, yes, it's me. I'm Yuri," he says, and then— realizing how awkward he sounds— adds a, "What do you want?"

"Hi Yuri, nice to meet you. My name is Otabek. I live right upstairs, in 303. I just moved in this weekend. It's nice to, uh, meet you, I guess."

Otabek pauses on the other end, and Yuri takes a moment to compose himself, cause damn, Otabek _also_ sounds flustered, and Yuri does _not_ know how to feel.

"Oh! I'm sorry, you're probably wondering why I called," Otabek continues. "Do you have a cat?"

All of a sudden, the panic is back all at once and Yuri lets out a small gasp. His mind is spinning; does Otabek know about Potya? Why is he calling now of all times? Is this some kind of coincidence? 

Yuri lets himself hope, just a little bit.

"Yes," Yuri whispers, his voice catching in his throat. He clears it and repeats himself.

He takes a deep breath and grips the cord of the landline, bright yellow and curled into a tight spiral. 

"This may sound weird, but have you been looking for your cat this morning?"

Yuri shatters.

"I uh, went to make coffee this morning, and there was a random cat in my apartment. She's a Siamese, with a collar that says the name 'Potya' on it?" Otabek continues, oblivious to the tears of relief that are streaming down Yuri's face as he bites back sobs. 

Yuri’s too grateful, too ecstatic to chastise Otabek for pronouncing "Potya" as "pot-yah," so he simply laughs, relief bubbling in his chest.

"Oh my god, oh my god. That's her. Potya. What the hell," he says, clutching the phone tightly. "Do you have her? God, I'm sorry. I was so worried about her."

Yuri hears a smile when Otabek speaks. 

"Yeah, she's here. I think she got in through my window— it connects to the fire escape. I usually sleep with it open, but I really didn't think animals could get into it."

"That cat. I'm going to kill her," Yuri says, the weight of the morning lifting off of his chest. "I'm really sorry about her."

"Don't worry about it!" Otabek says. "I haven't had company for breakfast in a while. It was nice to have a friend."

Yuri smiles into the phone.

"So, uh, can I bring her back?" Otabek asks apprehensively.

"Oh! Yes. That's a good idea. Or, should I come get her? I'm sorry, again, I feel like I should pick her up, you shouldn't have to walk all the way down—"

"Don't worry about. I'll bring her right down," Otabek cuts him off. 

"Are you sure? I already caused so much trouble..." 

"It's no trouble, really. I'll be there in a minute," Otabek says, and then he hangs up the phone.

Yuri slides down the wall, falling into a heap on the floor. The weight of what has just happened is sinking into him: his hands are still shaking, but Potya is safe.

Also: the guy with the really hot voice is coming downstairs to bring him back his dumbass cat, and Yuri has been crying, _oh god what a terrible first impression_ , he should really get it together, and did hot voice guy say that he also sleeps with the window open— 

Suddenly, Yuri hears his doorbell ring and he scrambles to his feet. Shit, shit, shit, he must be a mess; he doesn't even check his reflection in the microwave before opening the door. Yuri knows he looks bad, but as long as he wipes his eyes on his sleeve, maybe he can just get his cat back without totally embarrassing himself in front of his neighbor, it's all his stupid cat's fault, Yuri will _not_ be cuddling with her tonight.

Yuri flings open the door, and, oh shit, the guy's voice is not the only hot thing about him _holyfuckingshit._

Not only is a stranger with dark hair (that Yuri _longs_ to run his hands through) and beautiful eyes that look like deep fucking coffee-colored pools standing in his doorway like some a literal gift from god, but _oh my god_ he's carrying Potya, and he has this warm smile on his face, and he's holding her so gently—

It's all Yuri can do not to slam the door in Otabek's face and hide in his room forever.

"Hi, Yuri. I'm Otabek, it's nice to meet you. I'd shake your hand but I'm kind of occupied at the moment."

Yuri laughs at that, he feels himself relax just a little. 

"My god, I'm so sorry for her awful behavior," Yuri repeats, because he can't apologize enough.

"It's okay," Otabek smiles. "She's pretty cute."

Yuri wants to sink into the floor. He's so fucking captivated by the way that the corner of Otabek's mouth curves up gently into a smile, uneven on one side, and _what the hell,_ is that a dimple?

Any other day, Yuri would have thanked all of the gods in the universe for dropping this gorgeous, kind, man who's good with cats onto his literal doorstep, but for right now, Yuri's eyes are red from crying and he's still wearing his plaid pajama bottoms. 

Whereas Otabek is in a pair of crisp black slacks with a slim collared shirt tucked into the belt, and there is cat hair all over his nice outfit—

Oh yeah. Potya.

She meows and wiggles in Otabek's arms, as if to alert them of her presence once again, as if she can't feel Yuri's seething rage and immense relief literally pouring out of him, directed onto her tiny, furry body.

Otabek whispers something and pets the top of Potya's head, between her ears, and she stops squirming.

"I assume you, uh, want your cat back?" he asks, grinning again. It's all Yuri can do to keep himself upright.

"Yes, yeah, thank you. You can just put her down."

Otabek gently places Potya on the floor, where she scampers into the apartment and begins clawing Yuri's couch, because, of course. Fucking cats.

Otabek brushes himself off, unsuccessfully trying to get Potya's long white hairs off of his expensive-looking clothes.

"God, sorry about that. I can't believe her sometimes," Yuri says, and then offers Otabek the lint roller he keeps by the door for just these occasions.

"It's really okay. You don't need to keep apologizing," Otabek says, gladly accepting the lint roller. Yuri tries not to stare as he drags the roller up and down his (what Yuri can only assume is incredibly fucking toned) stomach. "I'm just glad you got your cat back."

Otabek peels off the outer layer and hands the tool back to Yuri. 

"Me too. I can, uh, take that," Yuri holds out his hand.

"I got it," Otabek says cheerfully, and sticks the used piece of lint roller in his back pocket. Yuri definitely does not take this time to imagine what his ass looks like.

The two of them stand awkwardly in Yuri's doorway for a moment before Otabek speaks again.

"So... I gotta get to work now. Uh, it was really nice meeting you in person," he says, holding out his hand for a handshake.

Yuri accepts it, still stunned by Otabek's fucking eyes and body and smile and _voice,_ which sounds so much richer in person that Yuri wants it to literally wrap himself inside of it.

"Potya!" Yuri blurts out, because he’s an idiot.

"Hm?" Otabek asks, knitting his eyebrows in confusion. Yuri is still holding onto Otabek’s hand so he drops it quickly and stares at the floor, trying to burn holes into it.

"Um. Potya. Her name is Potya, not _Pot-yah_."

Otabek laughs, and the sound makes Yuri flush because it's as beautiful as every single fucking thing about him— so deep and full of life and Yuri feels like he's floating.

"My mistake. It was nice to meet you, Potya!" he calls into the apartment, pronouncing the name correctly.

"It was great to meet you too, Yuri," he says, and then smiles gently. 

Yuri's eyes go wide and he's definitely bright red right now. Did Otabek say it was "great" to meet him, not just "nice?" Not that Yuri's competing with his cat, but…

And then Otabek is walking away, and Yuri sputters out something that sounds like "you too" before slamming the door and sinking to the floor for the second time this morning.

Once Yuri recovers enough to pick himself up from the floor, he realizes how stupid he must have sounded, and how red his eyes were, and god, his hands are sweaty, he hopes Otabek didn't feel that…

Potya is already back on her cat tree, grooming herself with her little pink tongue. Yuri stares daggers at her and stomps over to where she’s sitting.

_And he didn’t even get Otabek’s number._

"This is all your fault," he says, but he still buries his face in her fur and listens to her purr.

—

The next morning, Yuri wakes up 20 minutes before his alarm, but Potya is not there. Again. 

Panic seizes in his chest before Yuri realizes there is probably an explanation for it this time, god damn his cat, and so he takes a glance at the window.

Sure enough, the window is open just enough for a tiny head and body to slither out of. Yuri is dumbfounded; he had made _sure_ to close the window the night before. Literally, what the hell has gotten into his cat.

Yuri throws off the covers angrily and goes over to the window. He pushes it open enough to poke his head out into the fire escape and look upwards... and sure enough, the window right above him is open, but it’s more than just a crack.

Otabek’s apartment window is wide open. Huh. 

Before Yuri has time to overthink _that,_ his phone rings, confirming his suspicions.

“Good morning Yuri, it’s Otabek. I assume you know why I’m calling?” 

Yuri hears Potya meow in the background, and despite his frustration, he smiles. 

“I really don’t know how she got out this time. I closed my window last night, I made sure of it.”

“She woke me up by scratching at my window, so I let her in,” Otabek says casually, and Yuri feels something warm in his chest. 

“She’s so obnoxious.”

“I think she just wants to hang out with me while I have my coffee, Yuri, don’t be jealous because she likes me more than you,” Otabek teases. 

Yuri’s face flushes at the way he says his name, even though it’s already red from the way Otabek greeted him good morning.

“Anyways, I’ll bring her down in a few minutes. I’m about to head out to work anyways.”

Yuri nods into the phone and then realizes that Otabek can’t see him and says “sounds good,” before hanging up quickly.

Yuri had already mentally checked out of the conversation when Otabek said he’d be coming to Yuri’s apartment in literal minutes, and his mind was already making a plan about the fastest way to get ready and not look like a total bum for when Otabek came by. To return his cat.

God, that _fucking cat._

Yuri sprints to the bathroom to wash his face. He tries to run a comb through his hair before realizing it can’t be tamed and resorts to putting it up in a ponytail. He changes into a pair of sweatpants and a tight-fitting t-shirt because he doesn’t want to try _too_ hard. 

But, like, if his sweatpants hang a little low on his hips, and his t-shirt hugs his shoulders in just the right way, what’s the harm?

Yuri has just positioned himself on the couch (casually, Yuri’s super chill, it’s no big deal, he’s not freaking out at all) when he hears his doorbell. He waits a few seconds as so not to seem too eager, and then walks over and unlocks his door.

Like yesterday, the sight of Otabek is enough to bring Yuri to his knees, and he literally has to grip the doorknob to stay upright. Today, Otabek is wearing a lab coat over some scrubs and he is still holding Potya. Otabek grins and it sends a tingle down Yuri’s arms. He sets down Potya and she runs into the apartment. Yuri scowls at her.

“Don’t blame her. I was the one who lead her on,” Otabek says, the corner of his mouth tilting into a smirk. 

“What am I going to do with her?” Yuri snorts. 

“I promise, I don’t mind.”

Yuri hands Otabek the lint roller, and, just like yesterday, Otabek takes it easily. 

“So... are you a nurse?” Yuri asks, trying to make conversation while Otabek rolls the fur off of the front of his pants. Yuri tries not to stare too hard.

“A doctor, actually,” Otabek says, nonchalantly. He hands Yuri the lint roller, but only after peeling back the top layer and sticking it in his pocket. 

“Oh. Shit. That’s um, really cool,” Yuri fumbles. “Uh... sorry Potya kept you from, you know, saving lives and stuff.”

“It’s really okay. I enjoy the company, ‘cause sometimes I get a little lonely in the apartment by myself.”

Otabek blushes at his small confession and looks away. Yuri leans against the doorframe, cocking his hip slightly and crossing his arms.

“If you say so,” he says, feeling a flutter in his stomach as he notices Otabek’s eyes linger on the exposed skin above his sweatpants for a little longer than necessary. 

“Anyways, thanks for bringing her down. Again,” Yuri continues, trying to maintain his cool.

Otabek smiles at him, and it’s so fucking dazzling it almost knocks Yuri off of his feet. “Any time.” Otabek checks his watch. “Ah, I need to go or I’ll miss my bus. Nice to see you two again,” he says, tilting his head at Potya. He turns and begins to walk away.

“Any time,” Yuri hears himself repeat.

Yuri waits for Otabek to fully exit the hallway before shutting the door behind him and, once again, collapsing on the floor.

—

It goes on like this for weeks. Yuri wakes up to the sound of his alarm, closes his window, and gets dressed. While he waits, he makes himself breakfast and gets ready for the day.

Otabek always stops by on his way to work, Potya purring happily in his arms. They’ve worked out a routine, and when Yuri hears the knock on his door, his heart leaps out of his chest for just a moment.

Every time Yuri sees Otabek, his breath catches in his throat. Otabek looks so good in everything he wears— on workdays it’s scrubs and lab coats and sometimes 3-piece suits that send Yuri into a frenzy, and on weekends it’s sweatpants and old t-shirts and socks and sandals.

Potya also plays a role, nudging at the window that Yuri has taken to leaving open for her, and then leaping from Otabek’s arms and bounding back inside the apartment whenever Otabek brings her downstairs. Yuri always offers his lint roller and Otabek always gladly accepts, never letting Yuri take care of the trash and always staying to talk to him a little longer than Yuri thinks is normal for two neighbors. 

Or maybe, he just thinks that there is something there.

Yuri just hopes that he’s not imagining the lingering glances, when Otabek’s eyes take their sweet time to meet Yuri’s. Yuri prays that he’s not making up the prolonged silences where they both gaze at each other, or the times where Otabek knocks on his door earlier than usual.

Maybe, this one time, Yuri will allow himself to hope.

—

One particular morning, when Yuri is scrambling eggs and trying to decipher Otabek’s signals (if he can even call them signals, he doesn’t even know if the man _likes_ men, for god’s sake), he hears a knock at the door.

Checking the time, Yuri notices that it’s earlier than Otabek usually comes, but Yuri doesn’t think anything of it. He turns off the burner and opens the door, lint roller already in hand.

Otabek greets him with a nervous smile and sets Potya down gently, where she loops in between Yuri’s legs, purring. Yuri shoos her inside and offers Otabek the lint roller.

At first, Otabek doesn’t take it. He seems a little off today, and he’s fidgeting with the pocket of his lab coat. 

“Good morning. You’re early,” Yuri says, trying to assess the situation.

Otabek looks up suddenly. 

“Do you want to go to dinner?” He blurts, and then his eyes go wide.

Yuri almost steps back, stunned. Did he hear that right? Did Otabek just ask him out to dinner? He can’t tell over the sound of his heartbeat in his ears, loud and rushing.

“With me. Um, do you want to go to dinner with me? Sometime? Whenever you’re free?” Otabek continues. 

Oh. So Yuri did hear him right. Somehow, Yuri manages to get out the words “of course,” even though his mind is screaming “ _I’d love to”_ and _“I’d be fucking honored”_ and _“oh my GOD.”_

“Uh, I’m free tonight, actually,” Yuri says, unsure of where to look cause he knows he'll blush if he looks into Otabek's stupidly beautiful eyes.

Otabek takes a deep breath. “Okay. Awesome. I mean. Good. Great, I’m really excited,” he says, scratching the back of his neck. “I was actually really nervous to ask you...”

Yuri doesn’t hear the rest. Otabek? God of sexy voices and high-end fashion and incredible bodies? Was nervous to ask _him_ on a date? 

He’s dreaming. He must be. There’s no way that Otabek is into him. He has to be imagining this.

But, at the same time, Otabek is standing in his doorway, looking shy and confident all the same time, covered in fucking cat hair and, god, Potya, that evil fucking genius.

— 

Yuri wakes up to his alarm. Potya is nowhere to be found, but it’s been like this for years and Yuri no longer feels his heart in his throat when she doesn’t awaken him with her soft kisses on the nose.

Yuri stretches and walks into the kitchen, where Potya is sprawled on the counter, watching Otabek drink his coffee. 

Otabek holds out a steaming mug. “Coffee?”

Yuri sits down next to him and takes it, thanking Otabek with a kiss on the cheek. He then reaches out to scratch Potya behind her ears, just where she likes it. Potya looks at the two of them and purrs.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!


End file.
